MOLD is the least affordable town in North Wales for young couples trying to get on the property ladder, Plaid claimed last night.

And the party insisted council tenants should be banned from being able to buy their homes in a bid to save North Wales' dwindling stock of affordable houses.

Plaid says authorities should be given the power to scrap Right to Buy - one of former Tory leader Margaret Thatch-er's most controversial but popular policies.

Meirionnydd Nant Conwy MP Elfyn Llwyd wants urgent action to help the thousands of first-time buyers unable to get a foot on the housing ladder.

He yesterday unveiled a damning dossier which revealed the extent of the North Wales affordable housing crisis.

Using statistics from the Welsh Assembly, it showed Ceredigion was the least affordable area to live in Wales. Average household incomes are #18,894 but the average house price is #120,041.

Conwy county is the third least affordable area to live in Wales (average income #21,160 and average house price #99,914) and Denbighshire the fourth (income #22,025, house price #91,472).

The least affordable North Wales town is Mold - third for the whole of Wales.

Mr Llwyd said: "We think councils should be allowed to withdraw right to buy. This is a problem particularly in the Conwy area but also throughout Wales."

Mr Llwyd wants the Assembly to draw up an affordable housing strategy and set targets for the building of new affordable homes.

He also wants local authorities to draw up audits of spare land that could be used for house building and demand a percentage of affordable homes in all new developments.

Anyone who has been a council tenant for two years or more has the right to buy their council home at a 60% dis-count or a maximum of #38,000.

The scheme enabled thousands of council tenants to become home owners but left local authority landowners with a much reduced housing stock.

In November, the Scottish Executive agreed to suspend right-to-buy in parts of the Highlands for five years to protect affordable stock.

Give kids a chance

PLAID'S call for action follows a petition of angry first-time buyers in Gwynedd, signed by 1,400 people in Dolgellau, Barmouth, Tywyn and Trawsfynnydd.

It demands more affordable housing and a three-fold increase in funding for the Assembly's Homebuy scheme, which provides loans of up to 70% for first time buyers.

The signatures were collected by former Dolgellau mayor Linda Morgan. She said: "Young people simply can't even approach affording a place when the house price is five times or even 10 times their wage.

"The Homebuy scheme helped 27 people in Gwynedd in 2004-5 - the population is 117,000.."